Tennis fans might wonder what Aryna Sabalenka is doing during the second week of Wimbledon. She knew she wasn't going to be playing for the title after she was bounced out in the fourth round by Naomi Osaka. This caused the Belarusian to once again fall short of her goal to win the grass-court major.
But it was what she said after the loss that more people might remember. In classic Sabalenka style, she answered a reporter's question with openness and a melancholy joke. She sounded like many of us after we suffer an important loss in our own lives.
"I don't even think about ranking at this point," Sabalenka said. "I just want to go get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape."
Aryna Sabalenka wasn't afraid to say what her plan was after losing to Naomi Osaka in Wimbledon
The same kind of statement has likely never been uttered. The main reason is that one doesn't usually correlate drinking heavily with getting in better shape. Sabalenka clearly didn't mean those two things are directly connected, but were simply part of her stream-of-consciousness thinking. That's partly what made the words humorous.
The flip side is that the WTA No. 1 likely does feel extremely frustrated by her lack of success at the sport's most important tournament. She has won the Australian Open twice and the US Open twice, but she's never pushed past the semifinals in London. She has done so every other year since 2021.
Meanwhile, she has watched one of her greatest rivals, Iga Swiatek, transform herself from an all-time great clay-court player into one who can win on grass, too. Swiatek won Wimbledon in 2025.
Another rival, Elena Rybakina, won the grass-court Grand Slam in 2022. She has no chance to take the title again in 2026, as she lost to Elise Mertens in the third round.
Coco Gauff hasn't yet won Wimbledon, but after beating Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals is in the semifinals. Should she take home the trophy this year, which would be her third major title after winning the French Open in 2025 and the US Open in 2023, she would have just one fewer major title than Sabalenka.
To make matters worse, Sabalenka lost to Osaka, the Japanese player who was once ranked No. 1 and has four major titles. She has won the same Grand Slams that Sabalenka has, but should she win Wimbledon, almost all of the Belarusian's rivals will have tasted victory in London. Aryna Sabalenka is simply stuck getting drunk and trying to get in better shape.
